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Hundreds of residents in Mavoko, Athi River, Machakos County, are facing potential displacement following a 14-day eviction notice issued by the Kenya Meat Commission (KMC).
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In a formal notice dated May 7, 2025, and signed by the Managing Commissioner, KMC directed all occupants of the disputed land parcel—Land Reference Number 10281 in Athi River—to vacate the premises voluntarily within two weeks.
This directive follows a July 2024 judgment by the Machakos Environment and Land Court, which ruled in KMC’s favour in a legal dispute over the land against a private individual. The court declared KMC the rightful owner and ordered all illegal occupants to vacate within 90 days, a deadline that expired on October 10, 2024.
The land, which spans approximately 20 to 25 acres, is densely developed with private residences and rental units. It stretches from Njuguini to Slota villages within Athi River Township in the Mavoko Division.
The notice warns that failure to vacate within the new 14-day window—set to lapse on May 22, 2025—will result in forceful eviction, and any damage or loss incurred will be at the occupants’ risk.
The letter was also copied to key local authorities, including the Athi River Deputy County Commissioner, the Sub County Police Commander, and the Deputy Registrar of the Machakos Environment and Land Court.
This development comes shortly after a similar eviction in Katani, Mlolongo Division, where residents were forcibly removed from contested land near the Whistling Moran restaurant. That eviction left many homeless, with bulldozers demolishing homes in an overnight operation reportedly assisted by hired goons.
The current KMC land in dispute lies adjacent to a parcel owned by the East African Portland Cement Company, which also saw mass evictions in 2023 that left significant property destruction and social dislocation in their wake.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has recently emphasized that land grabbing poses a serious threat to security in Machakos County. He condemned the illegal occupation of public and private land by cartels who subdivide and sell it to unsuspecting buyers—many of whom later suffer forced evictions.
Now under the Ministry of Defence, the Kenya Meat Commission is managed by the Kenya Defence Forces.
The looming evictions have sparked anxiety among residents and concern among local leaders.
